My Friend Pinto is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language musical comedy film written and directed by Raaghav Dar, in his feature-length directorial debut.

Produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ronnie Screwvala, and distributed by UTV Motion Pictures, it has elements of picaresque, slapstick comedy and multiple musical sequences.

The film features Kalki Koechlin, Arjun Mathur, Shruti Seth, Makarand Deshpande, Rajendranath Zutshi and Divya Dutta in supporting roles.

Conceived as a musical comedy, My Friend Pinto had multiple sequences choreographed by Longinus Fernandes, featuring Babbar and Koechlin primarily.

While the performances of the majority of the cast were favourably reviewed, the film drew criticism for its scattered screenplay and the several underdeveloped subplots.

At a train station, Michael unknowingly disrupts a meeting between Maggie, an aspiring dancer who instantly attracts his attention, and a crook who intends to sell her to a pimp in Delhi.

His assistant Mac plans to assassinate him to take over his position and blackmails two of the don's most loyal henchmen, Ajay and Vijay, into doing the job.

Michael, meanwhile, continues to wander the streets of Mumbai: over the course of the night, he rescues a stray dog and helps a gambler win money to pay off his debts, only to have his wallet stolen soon after.

Michael, who is enamoured with Maggie's personality, finds out that she was supposed to leave for Delhi with an agent who had promised to help her become a dancer (unaware of the man's true intentions).

She is taken hostage and put into a deep freeze refrigerator, alongside a dead body that Ajay and Vijay had been carrying around all night, as she overhears Mac's plan to assassinate the don.

The cast is listed below:[2] Conceived as a musical comedy, My Friend Pinto was directed by Raaghav Dar in his directorial debut.

Reinstating his faith in Dar's abilities as a director, he said, "He has learnt a lot, has enough aptitude, has struggled and realised what it means to work here.

[4] Media reports in January 2010 suggested that Dar and Bhansali were auditioning for a newcomer to star opposite Babbar as the female lead for the film.

He then approached her with the film's script and suggested her to Bhansali, who eventually signed her for the role of Maggie, a naive Catholic girl form Mumbai and an aspiring dancer.

[12][13] Babbar and Koechlin learnt Charleston, a dance form named after the harbour city in South Carolina, for a musical sequence in the film.

[16] As most of the main cast members were oblivious to slapstick, they attended workshops where they worked on their comic timing, body language, and speech mannerism required for the roles.

[17] Makrand Deshpande, Raj Zutshi, Shakeel Khan, and Shikha Talsania play supporting roles in the film.

[17] As most of the scenes were shot on the streets of Mumbai, the crew had problems managing the scenic design; on one occasion a cow entered the premises which stalled the filming for hours altogether.

[30] A two-and-a-half minute long trailer for the film was released on 14 April 2011 on UTV Motion Pictures' official YouTube channel.

[35] Babbar was vocal about his disappointment regarding the manner in which the film was marketed, and criticised Bhansali's lack of involvement in promoting the project.

The reviewer also made note of the film's complex script, and asserted that although it was a difficult act to pull off on screen, Dar does it with "fluency and grace".

She was also critical of the poor execution of the slapstick humor, which according to needed an "edgy script, crisp repartee and laugh-a-minute gags" to work in the first place.

Arora felt that Koechlin carried off her role effortlessly and took note of Dutta's appeal and "oomph factor", while adding that she was capable of doing much more with her character.

[9] Noting the "visceral" screen presence that Babbar showcased in the film, Mayank Shekhar of Hindustan Times wrote that it might, "not be enough to support an entire movie.